Telling stories out of school is gossip. Telling stories about life is transformative.

Telling tales is just letting your tongue wag. Telling stories is a tried and true method for getting your point across.

Reminds me of a story . . . I recently wanted a doctor who was going to put a camera down my throat to know to be extra careful because I made my living with my voice. He sort of rolled his eyes as if to indicate that he was a professional and knew what he was doing. I asked him if he ever saw a Steven Seagal movie. He said he had.I told him about a scene from one Seagal movie where his young niece was wounded in a drive-by shooting. Seagal carries her into the emergency room and hands her off to the medical team. He tells the head surgeon to “treat her like the President of the United States.” The doctor in a dismissive tone said, “We treat all our patients exactly the same.” Seagal then takes his index finger and puts it between the doctor’s chest and shoulder and says, “like the President of the United States.” As I was delivering the final line to my doctor, I put my index finger between his chest and shoulder as I looked him in the eye. His tone immediately changed and I became more than just his morning patient.

Stories are powerful. Look at all the ones we got from the ancient Chinese, The Buddha, Jesus, Aesop and Steven Spielberg. They weren’t gossip; they were guidance.

Rod Stewart had an album titled: “Every Picture Tells A Story.” Just about any song you like tells a story.

We’ve gotten into the habit of issuing assertions, most of which are opinions or prejudices disguised as facts. We are attempting to tell someone how it is factually. If facts were the determining factor, O.J. Simpson would have gone to jail for murder and never been paroled.

Stories get past peoples’ defenses and register at a deeper level than thought. If you’re having trouble getting through, hone your story telling chops and you’ll separate the wheat from the chaff.